Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1887-05-21
AN INCIDENT OF THE WAR,
How Two Actors Met by Chance,

ROW i NO Actors Met by Chance.
Chicago News: Gus. Mortimer, the
manager Of Louis James, who is lately
from New Orleans, says that the south
ern people are intensely disguised with
the recent utterances of jeff Davis.
B~eauregard was and is still a great
favorite with the southerners, and
they resent any slight put upon him.
Mortimer, who was in the confederate
army and :a Beauregard's command,
says that he was the most popular
rebel officer, although he was an ex-
ira strict disciplinarlan. During the
first winter of the war Beauregard
commanded the armies of Virginia,
and the weather was intensely cold.
The men were volunteers, of course,
and entirely unused to the hardships
of war, and fell sick in great numbers,
and, what was worse, became dull and
dispirited. Profiting by the example
Of the first Napoleon, Beauresard hit
upon the plan Of establishing a theater
in the camp for the amusement of the
troops. Mortimer was selected to organ
ize the company, and the work of
erecting the theater was begun. The
man who was intrusted with the funds
necessary to engage the company
skipped south and deserted with the
money, and the movement of the fed
eral army broke up all the plans.
During the war, Mortimer says, the
theaters coined money. The horrors
of the siege were mitigated and some
times added to by dramatic perform
ances. and when an army entered a
town the first thing it did was to Of
ganize a company and play in the the
alter. Some of the armies contained
enough soldicr-actors for a very fair
sized company, and in some cases
| plays were rehearsed ahead, but often
er still the company was non-military
aud belonged to the theater or trav-
eled about seeking to play in some
town occupied by troops. The prices
charged were so cents for privates and
81 for officers, and the houses were
universally packed. The audiences
were enthusiastic and generally
in the very best of humor. so
much so as to make it rather difficult
to play. Mortimer was paroled, and
played off and on for a year or two
with all sorts of picked up companies
---half professional, half amateur, and
all sorts of sectionalism and politics.
Once at Corinth he played Orchard
Ill., in a linen buster; but the audi
ence didn't seem to mind the discrep-
ancy a bit, and insisted on his coming
forward in the tent scene and singing
the ''Star Spangled Banner and ''In
the Prison Cell / Sit" On the night
of the second days battle of the
Wilderness Mortimer was Oh picket
duty. He had not eaten a morsel for
over thirty~six hours, and he was nearly
dead with hunger, and very faint, hav-
ing but recently come from the hos
pital. 1t had been the wont of the
soldiers to supply the place of food by
copious chews of plug tobacco. and
Mortimer's pockets was full of the
weed, but the doctor had forbidden him
using it. He was standing by a tree,
faint and despairing, and in the agony
of his situation exclaimed aloud:
I'D give the biggest plug of tobacco
in the world for a piece of hard tack!'
''Ill take you at your word. Johnny
Reb!' exclaimed a hearty voice, and
before Mortimer could bring his gun to
his shoulder "A form sprang out OF the
dusk and a stalwart zouave stood be-
fore HIM.
''I've been watching you for some
time continued the northern man,
"and | thought you saw me and vas
getting ready to pot me till heard you
speak, The zOuave had unslung his
knapsack and displayed before the
furnished rebel want seemed to him n
banquet. ''And now, young fellow"
he said, .'if you'll give me a plug of
tobacco you can have all the hard
tack your jaws can crack. Fork
overt Such exchanges were com-
mon, and Mortimer clutched the food
and passed over a plug of Virginia to-
bacco, which was rs eagerly received
by the zouave. They talked a moment
or two and then, realizing their danger,
prepared to part. Mortimer inciden-
tally told his companion his name and
calling. The other was surprised and
said he was an actor, too.
You arep" asked Mortimer, de-
lighted, you're a brick! When the
war is over I'll come north and jolr
you. What's your namep"
Louis James," said the ouave as
he replaced his knapsack, pick ID
his gun and disappeared in the wvo IS.
Same One.
From the Detroit Free Press: A